China’s ZTE Corp is hoping high-end smartphones would help raise global shipments by a third in 2015 and establish a brand to rival Samsung Electronics Co and Apple Inc. at home, Reuters has reported. The world’s ninth-biggest smartphone vendor, which launched its Nubia brand in 2012 and makes telecoms network equipment, aims to increase its global smartphone shipments from 40 million last year to 60 million this year, 80 million next year and 100 million in 2016. “We will make more and more premium smartphones,” ZTE’s executive vice-president Zeng Xuezong told the news service. “After our efforts in the past two years, I believe our brand awareness and approval rating from customers could rival those of Apple and Samsung in China,” Zeng said.